The Match Girl's Lost Paradise
The Match Girl's Lost Paradise is the fifteenth installment of the Dark Parables series. The game takes place in Funen, Denmark. As the Fairytale Detective, we are sent to investigate a series of disappearances involving blue flames and magical matches. This game is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale The Little Match Girl with elements of The Emperor's New Clothes by the same author and the German folklore of Frau Holle. To read reviews or play the game for yourself, click here: Standard ~ Collector's Edition ~ Steam Briefing Your next assignment is on Furen, one of the largest islands in Denmark. It is a beautiful place with something unusual stirring just below the surface. There have been a series of unexplained fires. The latest one involved a rich landowner in Stars Hallow who was caught in his home. Like all the other incidents, there was no body and no traces of a fire afterward. It's as if the victims were swallowed by the flames. Locals have even given the phenomenon a name - the Flame of Illusion. A girl selling matches was spotted near each crime scene. She seems to be the only solid clue. Good luck, Detective. Plot WARNING:'' This section contains massive spoilers! (So read at your own risk!)'' The game opens with the Match Girl assaulting the Detective with a barrage of fireballs. The Detective gets up, only to be confronted by the girl, who says the Detective is "unworthy of her matches". She leaps away and blasts more fire down where the Detective is standing, blocking the entrance to the mansion nearby. The Detective manages to activate a hose system and extinguishes the flames. She heads to the mansion to search for clues. Inside, the Detective cleans off a mirror and sees the landowner who vanished! He exclaims that the matches the girl sold to him were worth it, then walks off. The mirror breaks, and two nutcracker dolls nearby come to life. The Detective drops a chandelier on them, destroying them, and learns the Match Girl is to blame. Outside the mansion, the girl reappears, and jumps over a fence. The Detective opens the gate and follows her to the countryside. The Match Girl explains that all the falling stars in the sky are lost souls, searching for happiness. She asks if the Detective would like to join them, then runs off, making debris fall in front of a gate. The Detective searches a nearby Match Shop, the Match Girl's home, and learns that although the girl's father was a drunk and abusive, her grandmother was kind. A toy box in the shop comes to life and states "Please, sir, buy my matches! My father will be mad if I don't sell any!" after the Detective pays the doll, it says "Please don't hurt her. The place she made was meant to help people, not imprison them." Regardless, the Detective leaves with a growth potion she found to grow a beanstalk. With the beanstalk, the Detective removes the rubble and goes through the gate. Ruins of a kingdom, Egeskov, lay beyond the gate. In a mirror in the ruins, the Detective sees the face of Prince Julian, all the way back from her sixth investigation. He warns the Detective to leave, oddly out of character for him... still, the Detective investigates the ruins and somehow brings the statue of a witch in the square to life. It becomes a plant-like monster, but the Detective manages to push it into the castle's moat and simultaneously open the castle drawbridge. In the castle, the Match Girl appears in yet another mirror: "It seems your desires are stronger than I thought," she says tauntingly. "Let's play a game: if you can find the entrance to my garden, I'll tell you everything you want to know." The mirror shatters. After investigating the castle ruins, the Detective goes through a hedge maze and finds parts of a magical sundial. She uses the pieces to open a larger sundial in the middle of a pond. The water turns purple, resembling the water of the Purple Tide, and the Detective solves a puzzle to open the entrance. But upon stepping closer to the sundial, she is pulled under the purple tide by the plant monster from before. The Detective is seen falling under the deep purple waves... Coming to her senses, the Detective woke up to find herself tied up. Encountering with a mirror that looks exactly like the False Mirror, he taunts the Detective before she freed herself. Along the way of exploring the Garden, which looks like a magical version of the kingdom from reality, she met with the illusions of King Eurig and Prince James. Eventually, she found Julian and freed him from his cage. Together, have have to search for the wishing well to get the Detective back to reality. She tried to get the Landowner to realize the illusion, but he attacks her, believing that she was here to steal his wealth. He falls from the second floor and was ultimately absorbed by the Torch of Phantasm. After activating the wishing well, the plant monster appeared to stop them. Julian hold it back, giving the Detective the chance to jump into the well. Returning back to reality, the Detective made her way to the forest. She eventually found the Match Girl, whose name is revealed to be Giselle, sitting in a chair in the witch hut. Enraged that the Detective has trespassed into her grandmother's house, Giselle summoned a stronger plant monster to deal with the Detective. Needing to get rid of the monster, the Detective collected a few items and escaped through the waterway that leads back to the town. Appearing to the plant monster from behind, just as she was about to shoot it, the spirit of the Forest Witch appeared, enchanting the arrow as it was being fired. The plant monster disappeared as the Forest Witch advised the Detective to search for a copy of the magic glass wand. She also pleaded to help her tell the truth to Giselle. After retrieving the wand, the Detective returns to the Garden by having the carriage take her there. Meeting with Giselle again, the Detective chase her down until they reached the top of the castle's domain. She successfully defeated the Match Girl, but Julian revealed his true intentions, taking the Torch of Phantasm with him to the Distorted Garden. Joining up with Giselle to stop Julian, they headed to the Distorted Garden and defeated the prince with the combination of her fire power and the magic glass wand. The Flame of Illusion was destroyed and without it, the Garden will perish, bringing death to the inhabitants trapped in it. Julian died, being sucked up in a vortex. With the last ounce of magic left, Giselle opened a portal for the Detective, willing to die with her Garden. Before the she could step in, the Forest Witch embraced her granddaughter before the Detective went through the portal. Parables The Little Match Girl On a cold snowy night, a poor young girl named Giselle was trying to sell matches on the street by herself. She was driven out of her home by her drunken father because they were broke and needed the money. The girl took shelter in a nook and sat down. She lit some matches, but they didn't offer enough warmth. She looked up to the sky and saw some shooting stars. Then she remembered that they can make wishes come true. She suddenly realized she couldn't think of a wish, for she felt that no one loved her. Her father beat her when he got drunk, and she could scarcely remember her mother. She had a faint memory of her dead grandma, a white-haired woman who held her gently when she was a baby. "I am coming to you, Grandma," the girl sighed, as she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a warm cabin. A lady with white hair was holding her gently, keeping her warm. The lady found her and brought her to her home. After hearing her story, the lady told the girl she could stay with her, if she wanted to. In time, the little girl learned that the lady was a witch. From then on, the girl lived with the witch, her new grandma, happily ever after. The Star Coins A poor little girl was working a spindle for a pittance on a cold winter's night. She suddenly pricked her finger on the spindle. She tried to wash the blood away with water from an old well, but she dropped the spindle and it fell into the well. She leapt into the well after it. When the girl woke up, she found herself lying on a featherbed in a warm cabin. A lady with white hair told the girl that she had accidentally triggered a magical portal within the old well. Not wanting to see the girl lost in an enchantment, the lady saved the girl and brought her to her home. Although the girl didn't understand what the lady said, she knew that she had experienced something miraculous. She knew she'd lost her spindle forever, but at least she was safe. To thank the lady, the girl asked to do housework for her, but the lady declined. She got up and shook the featherbed to fluff it up. As the girl was young and inexperienced, the feathers flew around like snowflakes. The girl felt ashamed. The lady, still touched by the little girl's efforts, asked the girl to close her eyes for a moment. When a girl opened her eyes again, she found herself beside the old well under the cold night sky. Suddenly stars falling from the sky transformed into gold coins! Furthermore, a spindle filled with beautiful yarn appeared in the girl's hand. The girl knew that she had been blessed with good fortune to meet a good witch. As the girl hadn't asked the lady's name, people who heard the story referred to her as the White Lady or Frau Holle. The Ominous Beauty Once upon a time, a beautiful prince was born in a kingdom beside the water. Everybody in the kingdom, blessing the prince's birth. Only a wandering old lady warned of the coming misfortune, which could only be avoided if the prince didn't look at himself in the mirror. Of course, no one listened to the prophet of doom. The old lady was ousted from the kingdom and soon forgotten. The prince grew up to be a good-looking man, and soon a charismatic king ascended the throne. Meanwhile, he became more and more fond of himself as he gazed upon his reflection in the mirror. He loved no one more than himself, for he believed that there was no creature as beautiful in the entire kingdom, or even the world. Shortly thereafter the king became unkind, cruel and selfish. He taxed his people to fill his castle with the finest things money could buy, especially elegant clothing and gorgeous ornaments. Life was hard for people under the king's rule. People no longer loved the king. They even began to curse his name. As more time passed, the king became mentally unstable, locking himself away in his castle. Perhaps the curse was effective. People said the king had gone crazy, for his beauty faded with age. The king ruined himself and finally his kingdom. The doomed prophecy spoken by the old lady came to fruition. The Forest Witch Long ago, a powerful enchantress suffered an inconsolable grief, for she lost her beloved. The feeling was too much for her heart to bear. In order to protect herself from such a traumatizing experience, the enchantress unintentionally broke her soul. Her soul was split into both good and evil sides. When the enchantress chose the evil side as her dominant personality, the good side was forsaken, and it separated from her soul transforming into an entirely different entity. The good side became a phantom-like existence, though it still carried the enchantress's knowledge and memories, but was fading with age. After drifting for several decades, with the blessing of the silver moon's shine, the phantom finally settled on a physical form. A new woman with a pure soul was formed miraculously under the moonlight. Due to her own experience, she knew that grief devoured people's heart and brought nothing but pain and suffering. She traveled around in a portable cabin, intending to help others with her sorcery to avoid people's sorrow. Sometimes she played a maternal role, and often took care of the local forest wildlife as well. She made people cures using herbs prepared with a mortar and pestle. Though she gave no name, her deeds won her many different titles. Knowing that she was only a fragmented soul, and that she would disappear someday, she still lived a meaningful life. She always remembered the enchantress who gave birth to her and hoped that what she did would somehow make up for the evil that had been done. The Second Prince's Revenge Once there were three orphan boys who were picked up by an old crone and passed down to a king, for each of them was imbued with a special talent. The king appointed them princes. The three princes followed their father, the king, with blind loyalty. One day, their regular lives were interrupted by a treasure hunter and a detective. It resulted in the king dying, and the destruction of his kingdom soon followed. The princes survived, but they had lost everything: their kingdom, their family, and their purpose for existence. The three princes wandered around to look for a way to bring back their deceased father. They met a girl who claimed to grant wishes. Thought the second prince noticed that the girl's power was only an illusion, he saw her potential. Suddenly, a plan flashed in his mind. He lied, saying they were knights, coming to provide aid to the girl. The elder prince was filled with strength and as vigorous as the Bright Morning. The second prince was an passionate as the Radiant Sun. The youngest prince was as intelligent and steady as the Dark Night. And so these were the names that they were known by. They claimed a destroyer, a detective, was coming. They said it would be better for the girl to grant more people's wishes so she should gain even more power. Finally, the second prince succeeded in approaching the girl, for he was the only one willing to make a sacrifice and imprison himself within the girl's illusory world. The oldest and the youngest princes continued on their journey to revive their father. Only the second prince stayed behind. He was only too happy to realize that besides raising his father from the dead, there were still many other things he could do, like exacting his revenge upon those who ruined his life. Connections * Prince Julian makes a reappearance. The last time the Detective saw him was in Jack and the Sky Kingdom. * An illusion of King Eurig and Prince James were seen. The last we saw them were in Jack and the Sky Kingdom and The Exiled Prince. * The Magic Glass Wand makes another reappearance. The last time the Detective used the wand was in Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow. The latest time it was used was in The Final Cinderella. * The False Mirror (powered by an illusion gem) makes a reappearance. This one seems like a copy, since the original was destroyed in Rise of the Snow Queen. * When the Detective used the Magic Glass Wand and traveled to the Garden by getting sucked into the glassy lake with the magic carriage, it parallels with the time when she did the same thing with Pinocchio in The Final Cinderella. Trivia There are a few errors in the game that have recently been discovered. * If you attempt to skip the Phoenix minigame where the Match Girl has dialogue, the game will freeze and you won't be able to move. * Another one is the brush revealed in the garden world. You can't click on it right away but you have to do a couple of steps before you can even get the hand icon on the brush. * Another glitch is that if you put the drawer ornament on the drawer in the witch’s cabin before using the book to obtain the baking powder, you will not be able to get the animal fat. * The develops may have chosen to set the game on Funen because that is where Hans Christian Andersen was born. Media Screenshots= Loading Screen.png|Loading Screen Main Menu.png|Main Menu Indulge in Greed.png|Indulged in Greed Match Girl Briefing.jpg|The Fairytale Detective Scary_Plant_Monster.jpg|Attack of the Scary Plant Monster Julian_defeated.jpg|"Giselle! What have you done?" Giselle_and_Forest_Witch_reunited.jpg|"Grandma. There you are ..." |-|Concept Art= MG_Waterway_concept_art.jpg|Waterway Concept Art MG_Hatchet_concept_art.jpg|Hatchet Concept Art MG_Items_concept_art.jpg|Items Concept Art MG_Lane_concept_art.jpg|Lane Concept Art MG_Distorted_Garden_concept_art.jpg|Distorted Garden Concept Art MG_Crypt_concept_art.jpg|Crypt Concept Art |-|Wallpaper= DP15_wallpaper01_1920x1080.jpg|Forest Witch wallpaper DP15_wallpaper03_1920x1080.jpg|Giselle/Match Girl wallpaper #1 DP15_wallpaper04_1920x1080.jpg|Giselle/Match Girl wallpaper #2 DP15_wallpaper05_1920x1080.jpg|Prince Julian wallpaper DP15_wallpaper06_1920x1080.jpg|Landowner wallpaper DP15_wallpaper07_1920x1080.jpg|False Mirror wallpaper DP15_wallpaper08_1920x1080.jpg|Mural wallpaper |-|HOP Scenes= MatchGirl_HOP1.jpg|HOP 1 (Village) MatchGirl_HOP2.jpg|HOP 2 (Countryside) MatchGirl_HOP3.jpg|HOP 3 (Town Remnants) MatchGirl_HOP4.jpg|HOP 4 (Rose Terrace) MatchGirl_HOP5.jpg|HOP 5 (Rose Terrace) MatchGirl_HOP6.jpg|HOP 6 (Vault) MatchGirl_HOP7.jpg|HOP 7 (Town Remnants) MatchGirl_HOP8.jpg|HOP 8 (Loft) MatchGirl_HOP9.jpg|HOP 9 (Arcane Lab) MatchGirl_HOP10.jpg|HOP 10 (Staircase) |-|Promos= TMGLP_Standard_Edition_icon.jpg|Standard Edition Icon TMGLP_Collector's_Edition_icon.jpg|Collector's Edition Icon Personnel Voice Actors Match Girl: Tara Sands Landowner: '''Eric Newsome '''Prince Julian: '''Jacob Barrens '''Tape Recorder: '''Lauren Synger '''Frog Prince: '''Jonathan Cooke '''Magic Mirror: '''Stephen Fitts '''King Oberon: David Naughton King Euring: Erik Braa Forest Witch: Lani Minella Special Thanks We wish to thank you, the player, for accompanying us on yet another adventure. You have bravely navigated the unsteady waters, climbed the steepest of peaks, laughed at the face of danger and lived to tell the tale of your conquest. We have reached the end of this adventure, but there are many more lying ahead. Until the fickle finger of fate brings our paths together yet again, we salute you! Category:Games Category:The Match Girl's Lost Paradise